Islands of the Eastern Mediterranean: A History of Cross-Cultural Encounters

 The Mediterranean, or 'Middle Sea', has long been regarded as the symbolic centre of European civilization. The binding water between Turkey, the Middle East, the trading communities of North Africa, and the European powerhouses Italy, France and Greece, a history of this sea is a new and vital way of understanding the history of the societies which have flourished in the region. The Islands of the Eastern Mediterranean charts the story of the water as both connector and border, and analyses the islands role in world history. Covering Mehmed II's efforts to conquer the old Roman Empire, through to the claims of Rhodes and the role of the Aegean Islands in Ottoman international relations, to the British in Cyprus and the present-day tensions, this book's interconnected essays from leading scholars form a tapestry of knowledge. Together, they represent a new frontier in the way in which we look at sea histories. This will become essential reading for scholars of History, International Relations, Trade and Migration.

Review: 'Islands of the Eastern Mediterranean brings together nine engaging and varied articles ranging from the late Middle Ages to the present, and from political history to the politics of history, adding considerable nuance to our ever more complex view of the sea and its peoples.' Brian Catlos, Professor in Religious Studies, University of Colorado at Boulder 'As framed by Caykent and Zavagno's able introduction, the essays in this volume collectively demonstrate how a Mediterranean lens can transform local exceptionalisms into regional patterns and how the fragmentation of the insular eastern Mediterranean poses the kind of methodological problems that lead to theoretical insights.' Sharon Kinoshita, Professor of Literature, University of California, Santa Cruz